Twentyone eightytwo
by Dyranum
Summary: Oceania is at war with the Citadel Council. Oceania has always been at war with the Citadel Council.


**Author Notes:** _Howdy lads and ladettes, this here is an idea I've had for quite some time. However, I really don't have the time to expand this into a full story so it's going to simply be a one-shot. This one-shot mashes together the world of 1984 with Mass Effect – and yes, in Oceania, Big Brother is still watching. Sweet Dreams._

_It's _highly_ recommended to read 1984 before reading this short fic. This fic assumes that one has already read 1984._

**WARNING: Contains information from 1984 which would better if you found out by just reading the book.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mass Effect series/universe/whatever nor do I own George Orwell's Nineteen eighty-four.**

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><p><strong>Twenty-one eighty-two<strong>

The sound of an alarm bell reverberated throughout the small room. It came from a large screen mounted on one of the walls and which could be seen from every single location in the square-shaped room. The room itself, excepting the screen, looked dirty and decayed. It had what looked like a makeshift kitchen and a window decorating the wall to the right of the large screen. It was sparsely furnished, the only real furniture present being a hard cot, evidently made of some sort of metal and without any sort of cushion, sheet or cover. Upon the cot laid the form of a fully dressed turian. His name was Saren Arterius.

Saren forced himself up and off of the cot as the alarm bell continued to blare. He moved up to and stood in front of the large screen – which was known as a telescreen – and awaited the daily, mandatory morning excercises. As the instructor materialised on the screen – a turian who was lacking the traditional markings on his face – Saren let his thoughts wander off. It was hard to believe how he had actually come to be in this situation, trapped inside the state of Oceania. A state which is both despised and feared by those humans not a part of it. It was the year 2182, or at least that's what Saren thought. It was impossible to know nowadays after living under the Oceanian yoke for so long, and the Oceanians weren't making it easier.

Saren forced himself to remember the events of the past, something which he did daily to keep his memory clear and devoid of Oceanian propaganda. It had been four years ago that Oceania had occupied and annexed the world which Saren lived on at that time and which he still does live on. Before the Oceanians came, the world was known as Taetrus. Nowadays it's known as _Doubleplusgoodness Two_. Saren did not know what he did that day when the Oceanian army had descended upon the planet. That information had been lost a long time ago. However, he did remember what the state of the war against Oceania was at that time. The Oceanian advance had finally begun to slow down, in no small part thanks to the efforts of the Free Humans who had extensive knowledge of everything that Oceania possessed.

The initial contact with humanity had been with these so-called "Free Humans". It had been peaceful, if a bit lacking in formality on the part of the humans. Looking back at it, Saren could understand why, but at that time the humans had made a horrible first impression on him. The humans had been fleeing from something on the other side of Relay 314. From what information had been publicly released, Saren knew the predicament of these humans. They had formerly lived on a multitude of worlds spread about all over the area behind Relay 314. They had been living in peace and mutual cooperation. That was until the resurgence of the old state of Oceania. The slogan of the Oceanian Party at that time was only three lines long. One of those mandated a constant state of war, the lack of which had been the source of its decline.

The refugee fleets of the Free Humans had been large in number and made it a point to get as much space between them and Relay 314. Less than a year after this incident, Oceania made its presence known on the galactic stage by launching assaults against the closest settled worlds, all of which were turian. The details of the war against Oceania after that were not as clear in Saren's head, and exact dates were impossible to recall. What he did remember was that Oceania had made great progress against the unprepared Citadel military, sweeping aside fleets and occupying Council territory.

The turning point had been when the Free Humans started to seriously contribute to the Council's war effort against Oceania. Before that, they had been busy settling down on - and securing - new worlds. The knowledge of Oceania that the Free Humans possessed combined with the resources of the Council proved decisive in slowing down the Oceanian hordes. Saren did not know the current state of the war though as the last time he had heard from a source he considered trustworthy was four years ago. The news reports on the war - that Saren had heard - which were broadcasted through the omnipresent telescreens told of great Oceanian victories. If one were to believe them, then both Palaven and the Citadel itself had been conquered by Oceania, and Thessia was an enormous warzone which was constantly changing hands.

However, Saren did not believe the telescreens and held onto the belief that the Council would eventually come out ontop and free him from the torture of living in Oceania. He had believed that four years ago as well, but his hope was starting to wane. Four years had passed without a sign of Citadel troops. Four years of living under the ruthless oppression of Oceania. Four uneventful years. Still, he couldn't let any of these emotions show so he kept up the hopeful expression despite it progressively becoming less and less sincere and more of a mask. After all, if you did not have an expression which seemed vaguely hopeful or optimistic of the future then it was possible that you would be taken in by the Thought Police.

There were no real rules in Oceania, a hell for Saren and any normal turian, but everyone knew the unwritten ones. If you showed even the slightest hint of deviation from an unwritten standard then you ran the risk of being taken by the Thought Police. Because of this, Saren strictly adhered to the unwritten rules of Oceania which he so detested. He hated the Oceanians and their state. If it was even remotely possible for him to do so then he would kill every living Oceanian he met, and especially members of The Party. Technically though, he was a member of The Party as well, albeit simply the Outer Party and it was most unwillingly.

As the morning excercise came to an end, Saren made his way to his job at one of the Ministry facilities. Specifically, the Ministry of Truth or "Minitrue" in Newspeak. Saren hated his job there, but did not openly show it for he knew that if he did, then he would be disposed of. He would be taken to the basement of the Ministry of Love where according to the Free Humans you would be ruthlessly tortured. There was supposedly a room in the Ministry of Love called "Room 101". What it contained though was unknown, as none dared to say anything about it except for its name.

Saren calmly walked down the decayed streets of Vallum, making his way to the imposing pyramid that was the Ministry of Truth. From the structures on the sides he could occasionally spot posters. The most common of these was the ubiquitous poster of the supposed leader of Oceania, "Big Brother". The face was at once calming and alarming. Its expression was eternally confident and its eyes ever watching. It didn't matter from which direction you saw the poster. As long as you saw it, the eyes would appear to always watch you. All citizens of Oceania were supposed to love Big Brother. Saren, however, hated Big Brother with a passion. That however did not make the face on the poster any less frightening. Those piercing eyes seemed as if they peered into one's very soul. And the caption which ran beneath it stated: "Big Brother is watching you", in bold capital letters.


End file.
